Secrets of Pavis

Two in a Row

In which Skye gets a Song of Her Own

19

JUN/13

After a couple of weeks training and Grom ministering to the Humakti trolls of the Gunddahaak clan, the heroes were once again visited by Krogar Wolfhelm, who bore some interesting news. Several of Sor-Eel the Short‘s closest confidantes, such as Gim-Gim the Grim and the dead governor’s brother Bor-Eel had disappeared – it was believed into the Rubble. Hucipites had asserted command and was calling himself Governor of Pavis.

However, Hucipites was, shall we say, lacking standing after his humiliation by Skye in The Naming Ceremony. He was known behind his back by all, including his troops, as Hucipites the Cock or, worse, Hucipites Cock-Out. Fuming at this, he had placed a bounty of 20,000 Lunars on Skye;s head. He had also ordered Geo’s Inn (where the heroes had been staying) sacked and the entire city block containing Geo’s burned to the ground. All the heroes’ possessions had been impounded. Moreover, Hucipites himself had taken to standing in the Market Square in full panoply every day calling Skye to submit to becoming his concubine or face him in single combat.

The heroes decided to return to New Pavis to recover their belongings. Skye in particular wanted her katana back before facing Hucipites. Krogar arranged for the party to meet with Brygga Scissortongue, Mayor of New Pavis, who had some ideas for retrieving the party’s possessions as a reward for ridding them of the tyrant Sor-Eel. She introduced them to the mysterious figure called Rat, who said that he could either lead the heroes through the otherworld to regain their possessions, or he could have his agents do it, for a price. They chose to have his agents do it, as they were flush with cash. As it happened, most of Skye’s possessions had already been retrieved, having been overlooked in the sack of Geo’s. Rat returned the next day with about three quarters of the missing belongings. Most sorely missed were Grom’s sacred shield, and yet more of Xaraya’s crystals.

Back fully equipped, Skye strode out to the market square at midday to meet Hucipites’ challenge. The duel began with an exchange of magic. Hucipites blew down Skye’s magical protections (most provided by Xaraya) before sidestepping Skye’s lightning bolt. Hucipites then cast a powerful defensive spell called Steadfast while Skye started summoning a Sylph. The Lunar then called down starfire upon Skye that hurt her somewhat. With almost all her magic gone and facing what might have been an impenetrable defensive wall in close combat, Skye had only one option before her Sylph arrived. She threw all her remaining magic into her javelin and hurled it, using the legendary powers she had obtained on an earlier heroquest. Vinga smiled on her, and her javelin passed through all of Hucipites’ defensive magic to pierce his eyeball and exit through the back of his helmet, killing him instantly.

Hucipites’ hoplites looked on silently as Skye stripped the body of its gilded armor before kicking him in the unmentionables once more for good luck. The common people of Pavis swarmed her and carried her to Gimpy’s for a victory celebration. That evening, The Minstrels Three were singing a new song:

She stood up to the man as she started to fly
Threw her javelin and gave him one in the eye
Our love for her now cannot be passed by
The hero of Pavis!
The girl they call Skye!

In the space of a few weeks, the heroes had slain two Lunar governors and chased many of the most powerful Lunars out of Pavis. The word Argrath was being bandied around…